Key News
Asian equities were mostly higher overnight though on lower volumes as Hong Kong and technology stocks outperformed.
Internet stocks reversed most of yesterday’s losses as Alibaba outperformed on increased share buybacks. The electric vehicle ecosystem mostly built on gains from earlier in the week. Real estate was higher in both Mainland China and Hong Kong, building on positive momentum from broad-based policy support both locally and nationally.
The Caixin June services PMI was lower than expected, coming in at 51.2 versus an estimated 53.4 and May’s 54, though still showing expansion with a reading above 50. I may have called it too soon, but the feeling on the ground in China is that services are booming, especially tourism.
Li Ning’s founder is said to be considering a higher stake in his namesake apparel company. Shares of the local apparel favorite were up +1.62% in Hong Kong overnight. But, clothing company Bosideng International fell -18% after the Chairman sold shares. Nonetheless, consumer plays were up overall today. Trip.com gained +2% on positive travel trends. The travel booking site saw its revenue increase +29% in the first quarter.
OpenAI has exited China’s vast market, which is a significant catalyst for homegrown artificial intelligence (AI) players such as KWEB holdings Baidu, which has already offered free services to AI startups using its Ernie Bot large language model, and Alibaba. Meanwhile, technology giant SenseTime Group just launched a new large language model for Chinese users. SenseTime’s stock rallied +17% on the news.
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) leaders spoke publicly in preparation for the Third Plenum. They called for a favorable environment for the internet economy, likely indicating to policymakers who will be present at the policy meeting that they need to prioritize the internet sector, having established the appropriate regulatory guardrails for the space.
The Hang Seng and Hang Seng Tech indexes both closed higher by +1.18% and +2.48%, respectively, on volume that decreased -4% from yesterday. Mainland investors bought a net $465 million worth of Hong Kong-listed stocks and ETFs via Southbound Stock Connect. The top-performing sectors were Real Estate, which gained +3.27%, Communication Services, which gained +2.51%, and Consumer Discretionary, which gained +2.32%. Meanwhile, the worst-performing sectors were Financials, which fell -0.16%, Industrials, which gained +0.57%, and Information Technology, which gained +1.10%.
Shanghai, Shenzhen, and the STAR Board diverged to close -0.49%, -0.78%, and 0.38%, respectively, on volume that decreased -10% from yesterday. The top-performing sectors were Real Estate, which gained +0.95%, Communication Services, which gained +0.22%, and Consumer Discretionary, which fell -0.13%. Meanwhile, the worst-performing sectors were Energy, which fell -1.49%, Health Care, which fell -0.78%, and Financials, which fell -0.47%.
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How to Buy the Same Stocks as China’s Sovereign Wealth Funds
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Last Night’s Performance
Last Night’s Exchange Rates, Prices, & Yields
- CNY per USD 7.27 versus 7.27 yesterday
- CNY per EUR 7.86 versus 7.81 yesterday
- Yield on 1-Day Government Bond 1.22% versus 1.25% yesterday
- Yield on 10-Year Government Bond 2.24% versus 2.24% yesterday
- Yield on 10-Year China Development Bank Bond 2.34% versus 2.34% yesterday
- Copper Price +1.48%
- Steel Price +0.84%
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